Tennessee lawmakers demand answers after report that private youth prisons hid abuse

Four Democratic Tennessee state lawmakers have asked the state Department of Children’s Services to explain how it oversees juvenile justice facilities, after a WPLN and ProPublica investigation found that the private company running the state’s highest-security youth prisons repeatedly failed to report abuse and other serious incidents. The lawmakers’ letter was reported by ProPublica and WPLN.

The company, Wayne Halfway House, is owned by businessman Jason Crews and runs all three of Tennessee’s highest-security youth prisons. Most youth in state custody for crimes are held in Crews’ facilities, which accommodate nearly 300, according to the investigation. Tennessee law requires facilities to notify the state within 24 hours of significant incidents, including serious injuries to youth, escapes and restraint use.

The investigation drew on interviews with dozens of former staff and youth, and on emergency call logs, company records and state documents. Over a dozen former staff said the company failed to report grave safety failures. Kim Watts, the company’s former human resources director, said: “You always call Jason and nothing gets reported without his permission.” Watts was fired in 2024, and her termination paperwork says the company “decided to go in a different direction.”

Surveillance video dated June 29, 2024, from Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center shows a teenager in an anti-suicide smock dragged across the floor by other teens as guards watched, the reporters wrote. A guard flashed the teens a thumbs-up. The youth, Thomas Jarvis, has since turned 20. The Department of Children’s Services confirmed that no incident report was filed. Years earlier, at another Crews facility, Hollis Academy, a medical provider found bruising on Jarvis, and a child abuse report submitted to the department said, “With this amount of bruising staff had to be aware.” A state investigator later found the facility never reported the injury to the state.

Nine former employees and youth also told the reporters that leaders discouraged staff from calling 911 without permission from Crews or his deputies. A company policy from 2024 obtained by the news organizations read: “Before law enforcement or emergency services enter our buildings at any time, Jason Crews, CEO must and will be called, no exceptions.” A revised riot policy that took effect in August 2025 removed the requirement to call Crews and instead tells staff to notify facility leadership and the company’s state director.

Liz Ryan, who oversaw juvenile justice programs for the Biden administration, reviewed a summary of the incidents, the relevant laws and the company’s responses. She said the company and its leadership “appear to have demonstrated a documented pattern of disregard for state law, federal law and professional standards.”

In their letter, the lawmakers wrote that the allegations “demand an urgent, transparent, and independently verifiable response” from the department. They asked what steps the department is taking, how much the state spends to place youth in Wayne Halfway House facilities, and who is being considered to operate the new juvenile facilities the department is building. They also asked to meet with department leadership to “identify the legislative and administrative actions necessary to ensure that no child’s safety depends on abuse first becoming a news story.”

The letter notes that Tennessee plans to spend more than $400 million to build additional facilities. The lawmakers wrote that holding 31 youth at a Wayne Halfway House facility for a year costs roughly the same as expanding grocery benefits for 700,000 school-aged children over the summer.

State Sen. Heidi Campbell, who signed the letter, pushed for independent oversight of juvenile facilities in 2024. Campbell and others working on that bill said a lobbyist for Wayne Halfway House asked them to exempt privately run facilities. The lobbyist told the news organizations at the time that the company was concerned about giving regulatory power to an outside agency “without more extensive consideration.”

Wayne Halfway House said in response to the letter that it “continues to meet or exceed performance standards set by Tennessee,” citing state audits, and that it has helped more than 200 youth earn a high school diploma or equivalent in the last three years. In statements about the earlier reporting, the company said it “vehemently denies” that Crews or the company ever discouraged staff from reporting serious incidents, and described former employees as “untrustworthy sources” with a “clear bias.” The Department of Children’s Services said it is looking into incidents uncovered by the reporting. It did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.